Chinese Books Now Available by Airmail, For a Price

Chinese online retailer 360buy.com said Tuesday it will now ship books overseas, opening up a selection of 500,000 titles to Chinese-language readers overseas who can’t easily get to their nearest Chinatown bookstore.

360buy.com

The Chinese version of Amy Chua’s “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” for sale on 360buy.com.

The service would be welcome by many people for whom access to original copies of Chinese books is difficult or impossible. Previous options have been limited to going through a scattering of overseas Chinese book dealers, usually located in major cities with large Chinese-speaking populations, or buying them directly in China and hauling them back. China has a number of online document-sharing services through which users swap electronic copies of books, and some online merchants offer books cheaply in PDF-format, but many such copies are unlicensed.

The new service promises to make the process a lot more convenient. Still, buyers should beware of expensive, non-refundable shipping fees.

Advertisement

Operated by privately-held Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co., 360buy will offer the books for the same price as it does to buyers in China, so “overseas readers will be able to purchase books at the most affordable prices,” the company said. Books will be delivered by DHL within one week and payments can made in U.S. dollars through eBay’s PayPal, based on an exchange rate set by 360buy.

Among the offerings are Huang Tieying’s popular “Haidilao: You Can’t Touch This” (海底捞你学不会), detailing the customer-first business strategy of one of China’s best loved hotpot chain (around $3.70), and Wang Xiaofang’s reliably entertaining fiction series, “Stationed in Beijing” (驻京办主任), about the corrupt dealings of local government representatives in the capital (roughly $10.50 for the box set).

China history geeks can now mail order one of three different versions of the Qing Dynasty classic, “Complete Library of the Four Treasuries” (四库全书) instead of lugging the tome back on the plane (between $50 and $130).

Meanwhile, fans of Tiger Mother Amy Chua can discover how her book on parenting sounds when translated into Chinese (我在美国做妈妈; roughly $2.50) or compare it with Yi Jianli’s perennial parenting best-seller “A Good Mom Beats a Good Teacher” (好妈妈胜过好老师; around $2.60)

A scan of the company’s shipping rates, however, shows that delivery fees would be hefty. For standard air shipping, customers in North America will have to pay 50 yuan per item ordered, plus a 150 yuan shipping fee. The fees “include order-based freight, export duties and other taxes,” according to 360buy’s website, though customers would be responsible for any fees collected by destination countries, the website says.

The company estimates delivery time to be one week, but warns that it will not bear responsibility for any time or money lost if shipments are embargoed by Chinese Customs or held up by other customs procedures. Customers entitled to refunds may request returns within 15 days, but only product payment and collection charges can be refunded, not the cost of shipping.

In addition, overseas customers will not be entitled to pricing guarantees, coupons, order discounts, promotional offers or gift card payments.

Dangdang, a 360buy competitor that listed on the New York Stock Exchange last December, ships outside Greater China for a fee of 50% of the order total, with a minimum fee of 50 yuan, and delivers in four to eight weeks, according to its website.

A 360buy spokeswoman said that the company had received many requests for the company to ship its products internationally from overseas Chinese customers who couldn’t easily find Chinese books outside of China. Like Amazon, 360buy’s online offerings for consumers inside China include a broad range of products such as electronics and cosmetics. The company was founded in 2004 by the owner of a brick and mortar electronics retailer, and has become one of the biggest e-commerce websites in China.

About China Real Time Report

China Real Time Report is a vital resource for an expanding global community trying to keep up with a country changing minute by minute. The site offers quick insight and sharp analysis from the wide network of Dow Jones reporters across Greater China, including Dow Jones Newswires’ specialists and The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning team. It also draws on the insights of commentators close to the hot topic of the day in law, policy, economics and culture. Its editors can be reached at chinarealtime@wsj.com.